One of Obama's first decisions as president-elect was to ask theIllinois congressman to run his White House staff. The selection of thefiery Democrat marked a shift in tone for Obama, who chose more low-keyleadership for his presidential campaign.

Emanuel, who served as a political and policy aide in the ClintonWhite House before running for Congress, weighed the family andpolitical considerations before accepting. He will have to resign hisseat, relinquish his position in the House Democratic leadership and putaside hopes of becoming House speaker.

Democratic officials who disclosed Emanuel's acceptance did so on thecondition of anonymity to avoid angering Obama's team; it had notplanned to announce the chief of staff position on Thursday.

In offering the White House post to Emanuel, Obama turned to a fellowChicago politician with a far different style from his own, a man knownfor his bluntness as well as his single-minded determination.

House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio called Emanuel "an ironic choicefor a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, makepolitics more civil, and govern from the center."

Before accepting the job, Emanuel told Chicago's WLS-TV that he washonored to be considered but needed to weigh the impact on his family."I have a lot to weigh: the basis of public service, which I've givenmy life to, a career choice. And most importantly, what I want to do asa parent," Emanuel said in an interview aired Wednesday. "And I knowsomething about the White House. That, I assume, is one of the reasonsthat President-elect Obama would like me to serve. But I also knowsomething about what it means to a family."

As word of Emanuel's acceptance spread Thursday, Obama was meetingprivately in Chicago with U.S. intelligence officials preparing him tobe commander in chief and transition team leaders tasked with buildinghis entire administration in 10 short weeks.

The president-elect planned his first public appearances since hisvictory for Friday.

Aides said he will meet with economic advisers to discuss the nation'sfinancial woes — Americans listed the economy as their top concernon Election Day — and then talk to the news media. Aides also saidthat Obama and his wife, Michelle, will visit the White House on Mondayat President Bush's invitation.

"Michelle and I look forward to meeting with President Bush and thefirst lady on Monday to begin the process of a smooth, effectivetransition," Obama said in a statement. "I thank him for reaching out inthe spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the manychallenges we face as a nation."

Obama advisers said he was selecting the leaders of the new governmentwith a sense of care over speed, with no plans to announce Cabinetpositions this week.

Aside from Emanuel, several Obama aides said other White Houseofficials were being lined up, including Robert Gibbs as the likely pickfor press secretary. Gibbs has been Obama's longtime spokesman andconfidant and was at Obama's side from his 2004 Senate campaign throughthe long days on the presidential campaign trail.

Obama planned to stay home through the weekend, with a blackout onnews announcements so that he and his staff can get some rest after agrueling campaign and the rush of their win Tuesday night. He isplanning a trip to Hawaii in December to get away with his family beforetheir move to the White House — and to honor his grandmother, whodied Sunday at her home there.

Obama began Thursday as he usually does, with a workout. Later, heplanned to visit with the transition team he officially announcedWednesday but had been under way for weeks. Officials had keptdeliberations under wraps to avoid the appearance of overconfidence inthe weeks leading to Tuesday's election.

He also spent time at the FBI office in Chicago, a secure location forhim to receive his first president's daily brief.

The document is mostly written by the Central Intelligence Agency and includes the most critical overnight intelligence. It is accompanied by a briefing fromtop intelligence officials that typically lasts 45 minutes to an hour,although Obama's first is expected to be longer.